Proceno

We will now begin with you a journey through this magic territory, starting from one of the smallest spots on the map, a village where Popes, emperors and scholars have stayed, a village that saw some of the great men in history: Proceno.
Proceno owes its origins to the Etruscan people, whose life was dominated by the sacred. At the basis of Etruscan religiosity was the belief that any natural phenomenon was the expression of divine will. Even the place of the foundation of cities was decided upon on the basis of the interpretation that augurs and haruspices, that is the priests, gave of the birds' flight and of the entrails of slaughtered animals.

According to an ancient legend, Lucumone Porsenna, a VI century B.C.Etruscan king, went once boar hunting in the woods where Proceno stands today. There, he was assaulted by an enormous and very fierce boar. The king was neither surprised nor frightened and killed the boar. By observing the liver of the beast, the haruspices, who knew the art of interpretation, suggested that Porsenna found a town to celebrate his lucky escape. From this event comes one of the elements in the coat of arms of Proceno, that is the head of the boar.
The second element, the crescent, recalls the participation of the inhabitants of Proceno in the naval battle of Lepanto, in 1571, in which the Holy League, led by Don Giovanni of Austria and Andrea Doria, defeated the Turks during the crusades period.
The third element, the keys of St.Peter, recall that Proceno, strengthened and enlarged in 1157 by decree of Matilde of Canossa, from this date joined its fate with that of the Papal state, although sometimes the community took attitudes of independence or even hostility towards the Holy See. In the 1240s Proceno, besieged by the armies of Frederic II of Svevia, managed to show its loyalty to the Pope and was thus granted permission to add the keys of St.Peter to its coat of arms.